Watchdog - Five ideas for a cheaper holiday

1. Be wary of the eurozone but don't abandon it completely

With the euro so high against the pound, let's face it you can't get as much bang for your buck as far as buying euros goes these days.

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office and ABTA have tipped Turkey, Egypt, Morocco and Mexico as some of Britons' likely choices this year. Indeed, they do all offer a culture rich, euro-free experience. Travel journalist Simon Calder also recommends looking East: "This is going to be a fantastic year for travel, it's just a question of being careful, planning ahead and getting the most for what remains of your pounds. Once you get to Croatia, Bulgaria, Turkey and Egypt, and beyond that to India and Thailand, that's when you're going to see the best value".

However, Simon also warns not to ignore those classic destinations such as Spain and France. "It's still very easy to get no-frills flights right across Europe and there's an awful lot of very hungry hoteliers out there who are going to be offering some very spectacular deals to lure you and me across to the Med despite the puny pound".

2. Explore the countryside

With almost 50 'Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty' including miles of varied coastline and beaches, see the Portheor beach in Cornwall example in the image above, isn't it time to explore the great British outdoors?

The Caravan Club has reported record bookings for 2009 and camping continues to gain popularity among Brits. Caravan sales are up as people are drawn to investing in something that will reap rewards for numerous holidays and allow them to discover what Britain has to offer, cheaply. Nick Lomas, director of marketing for The Caravan Club, says: "We confidently predict that 2009 will be the year that welcomes the return of the great British holiday".

"For sheer freedom, you can't beat camping in Britain" writes chief travel writer Stephen Bleach in The Sunday Times. Indeed now's a good time to get deals on camping equipment with many off-peak season sales on the high street. Fergus Little of Cakes and Ale campsite in Suffolk says: "It was the busiest May Day bank holiday that we've had for a long time and summer looks to be very busy too".

3. House Swap

It may sound odd to hand your house over to a stranger but when you consider the savings that can be made it does become more enticing. The cost of lodgings and restaurants can often be the most expensive things on holiday, with home swapping these prices are eliminated or greatly reduced.

House swappers avoid pricey tourist hot-spots by staying in a residential area and lament on memorable holidays. Seasoned house swapper Bob Howard explains: "I've house swapped five times, twice in France and Italy and once in Spain. It's exciting, especially if you have children. Their toys are there to play with, sometimes there's a pet to look after, which the children love. It's a lot more personal. I never worry about the state of our house when we're away, maybe just for a minute on the way home but the house is normally cleaner than when we left it! One family cooked a meal for us to eat when we got back".

"The one downside is the work. You need to be prepared to send a lot of emails to find the right houseswap but the financial saving, the fact the kids love it and staying in places wouldn't dream of renting makes it worth while".

There are several house swap directories, here are a few. Homebase Holidays was founded in 1985 and is offering annual membership from £19. There's also eco-friendly Green Theme International which costs from £25 to join for one year; at the time of writing 20 Parisian properties were listed. HomeLink comes with a £115 price tag but is the biggest home exchange company and will list your property on the website and in one edition of the HomeLink directory.

4. Take a UK city break

Instead of a pricey conventional 'city break' - how about a UK city break by rail? Whether you'd like to take in the Georgian architecture and Roman baths in Bath, Victorian shopping arcades in Leeds, Manchester's curry mile or Bristol's colourful International Balloon Fiesta, British cities have a lot to offer.

Huge savings can be made on train tickets. According to Martin Lewis of the Money Saving Expert website, Network Rail must have the timetable set 12 weeks in advance so this is often when new and cheaper tickets are released - you can sign up to receive email alerts from thetrainline.com.

If you leave it late it's still worth phoning the relevant train company to see if any advance tickets or deals are still available - even on the day of travel - you may avoid a hefty fare at the station. Another thing to bear in mind is checking to see if two singles are cheaper than one return ticket.

5. Take advantage of 'fare finder' websites

Websites which search for cheap fares such as Kayak, Skyscanner and Travelsupermarket may help you find the best deal.